Oxford United

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Oxford United head coach Gary Rowett says he is frustrated by his side's 1-0 loss to fellow strugglers Sheffield United.

A second-half Callum O'Hare goal was the difference between the sides as Oxford impressed in a goalless first half.

"When you play against a team like Sheffield United - we know where they are in the league, we know they're not at the most confident or been at their best - but they've still got a very good squad, still got very good players," he told BBC Radio Oxford.

"I think it's a sign of respect in some ways that they came, set up almost, it felt like, to go and frustrate us and maybe nick a point or maybe get something on the break.

"I thought we limited them to very, very little. First half was, again, another really, really good performance - maybe a little bit of quality in the last action wasn't quite there - but I thought it was a really dominant first-half performance.

"Second half we knew, perhaps, it would be a little more even, but what you can't do is you can't allow one moment, one ball, three in the box, takes as touch, finds the corner, and we didn't have that luxury.

"It feels like we keep leaving the door ajar for teams to get something out of the game where maybe it should be a 0-0 - we're frustrated, we don't take our chances, but we go away with something."

Sheffield United will seek their first points of the season against a resurgent Oxford United when they visit the Kassam on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Chris Wilder's return as Blades boss was marked with a loss against Charlton Athletic to see the side still yet to move off the mark.

In contrast, Oxford have come out of a tough trilogy of games against promotion-contenders to take five points out of nine, finding their first victory of the season against Bristol City last time out following two hard-fought draws with Leicester City and Coventry City.

• Oxford won this exact fixture 1-0 in April, but haven't beaten Sheffield United in consecutive league meetings since October 1984.

• Having won just one of their first 10 away league games against Oxford between 1969 and 1996 (D4 L5), Sheffield United have now won three of their last four visits to the U's (L1).

• Following a 3-1 win against Bristol City last time out, Oxford are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since January.

• Sheffield United have lost all six of their league games so far this season. Since the rebrand in 2004, only two teams have lost each of their first seven to start a Championship campaign – Peterborough United in 2012-13 and Wycombe Wanderers in 2020-21.

• Oxford have scored more set-piece goals than any other side in the Championship this season (excl. pens), with seven of their nine strikes coming from a set play.

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett has been speaking to the media ahead of hosting bottom side Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Here are some of the key lines:

• Following their first win of the season against Bristol City, Rowett says that he felt the three points "was coming."

• He said: "It was another improvement on Coventry second half, another improvement on the Leicester first half and to put that into a three game run into three tough sides makes the win feel more important."

• However, he is keen for them to not "get too excited" and "maintain their hunger" as they look to back up the win against the Blades.

• Rowett admits that Sheffield United will be "a different animal" now boss Chris Wilder has taken over but that he's expecting them to "take time to gel"

• He also says that while he's encouraged by his side's creativity, he wants to work on their defence.

• He added: "We just need to find that defensive balance as well. I think if we were sat here having scored nine goals and conceded six, which was maybe our average last year, the league would look very different."

A potential move to take the Championship play-offs down to eighth place would damage the competition's credibility, according to former Huddersfield, Stoke and Middlesbrough defender Tommy Smith.

The EFL board is set to discuss proposals to increase the number of teams in the end-of-season play-offs from four to six but Smith, who was promoted to the Premier League with Huddersfield via the play-offs in 2017 is not a fan of the idea.

"It's not for me - I think it suits teams who don't really have a chance to get in the top six," he told the BBC's EFL podcast 72+.

"From a credibility point of view the top six is there to be aimed at and you have to earn your place in it."

The play-offs were first introduced for the 1986-87 season where sides finishing third down to fifth were involved along with the team third-from-bottom in the top flight.

After two seasons the format was changed to be played out between teams finishing third to sixth in the second tier.

"To finish eighth in the Championship and potentially get promoted to the Premier League it just doesn't sit right with me," added Smith.

"Notoriously over the past years getting into the top six is tough and when you get in there after a long hard season it feels brilliant, so to make it a top eight it dilutes it."

"In the last 10 days or so, we've gone from being a team that probably every club in the Championship was looking forward to facing, whereas now I can guarantee you Sheffield United fans, who would have been looking at Saturday's game as a massive opportunity, now are thinking, 'hmmm, I'm not sure I really fancy this'."

The Dub team talk Oxford United's first win of the season against a Bristol City side aiming for promotion and the message it sends to the rest of the Championship.

Listen to the full episode and more Oxford United content on BBC Sounds.

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Gary Rowett has tipped summer signing Brian De Keersmaecker for the top and says the best is yet to come from the midfielder.

The 25-year-old Belgian arrived in the summer from Dutch club Heracles where he scored seven goals in 64 league appearances.

After injury curtailed his start to life with the U's, he has now played 90 minutes in three straight games, which has coincided with the end of the U's three-match losing streak to start the Championship season, earning home draws with Coventry and Leicester before Sunday's fine 3-1 win at Bristol City.

De Keersmaecker provided a superb assist from a free-kick for the opening goal for Nik Prelec, before an inswinging free-kick curled all the way in for the late third goal, with Greg Leigh credited with getting the faintest of touches.

U's boss Rowett is delighted with his new signing, telling BBC Sport: "He's brilliant. I said to him before the game, 'Go and be the best player on the pitch.'

"He's a brilliant signing for us, we watched a lot of him at Heracles last year. He was their captain, I think he was quite inspirational for them, and a very good age to come into the Championship. He's ready for that.

"He was injured for the first few games of the season but I've watched him train and seen little bits in games against Coventry and Leicester.

"I thought [it] was a more complete performance [at Ashton Gate] but I think he's got a lot more to come. He's going to be a top player."

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Oxford United head coach Gary Rowett said his side showed "more confidence" as they picked up their first league win of the campaign away at Bristol City.

The U's followed up two draws with Coventry and Leicester with the 3-1 win to move out of the bottom three of the table.

"I thought first-half we were outstanding. We started the season poorly but we built on the second half against Coventry and first half against Leicester," Rowett said.

"We've taken that into today and showed a little bit more confidence, created some really good moments, had to ride a few moments defensively.

"I felt as though we gave them one or two moments easily, but we managed to get blocks in and the like.

"We more than deserved it today. I thought it was a good all-round performance."

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett has revealed winger Matt Phillips is likely to be out for "a few months" with a quadricep injury sustained against Leicester last week.

"This pre-season he has looked pretty sharp," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

"He has good foundations and I thought you saw that in his performance against Leicester. It was one of his best performances, very bright, and then he has got an injury to curtail that.

"I think he actually felt something go in his quad. I'll leave the exact details down to the medical team - it looks like it is probably going to be a few months rather than a few weeks."

Oxford lost all three of their opening league fixtures, but have secured back-to-back 2-2 draws against Coventry and Leicester to sit 22nd in the Championship.

The U's travel on Saturday to face a Bristol City side (15:00 KO) which is unbeaten so far in the league, sitting two points behind early leaders Middlesbrough.

"We know we are playing a tough game," Rowett added. "We know we are playing away from home, which caused us some problems last season. However, it is about us trying to build on that and to build on those performances.

"They [City] are a very well coached team and are very structured and have scored a few goals in the early season so we will have to be mindful of their attacking threat."

Winless Oxford United head to unbeaten Bristol City on Sunday (15:00 BST) seeking to get their season started.

After losing their opening three Championship games of the season, Gary Rowett's men have responded with back-to-back 2-2 draws against Coventry and Leicester, though both came at home.

The Robins went into the weekend two points off the top after three wins and two draws in their opening five games and scored seven times in their past two fixtures against Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday.

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their last five league games against Oxford United (W2 D3) since losing 3-0 in October 1999.

• Oxford have lost one of their past eight away league visits to Bristol City (W2 D5) though that defeat was last season in a 2-1 defeat.

• Bristol City are enjoying their best start to a league season (11 points in 5 games) since winning 13 in their opening five games in 2020-21, though they went onto finish 19th that campaign.

• Oxford were unbeaten in their first nine league games under Gary Rowett but they've since won four of their past 21 matches (D6 L11). Since the date of this 21-game run (4 February), the only ever-present side to win fewer points than the U's (18) is Sheffield Wednesday (17).

• Bristol City's Anis Mehmeti has both scored and assisted in each of his last two Championship appearances – he had only achieved this once in his first 129 games in the competition beforehand.

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Oxford United first-team coach Chris Hackett says there is a "massive emphasis" at the club on developing young players through their academy.

Former U's winger Hackett himself came through Oxford's youth ranks - and one of his first coaching roles at the club was with the youth team.

He worked his way up to becoming manager of the Under-18s side before taking up a first-team coaching role in 2023.

"The academy is massive at Oxford," Hackett told BBC Sport.

"It's a one-club county so it gives us the benefit of being able to 'own' our county and make sure we get the best players from the region into our club.

"There's been a massive emphasis on developing young players and progressing them into the first team."

Two prime examples of academy products in the first team are forward Tyler Goodrham and full-back Sam Long.

The pair came through the academy at Oxford and have had a big impact at senior level.

Both played 90 minutes at Wembley in 2024 when Oxford beat Bolton to win the League One play-off final, and since then have been key members of both Des Buckingham and Gary Rowett's sides.

"At the moment if you look at Sam and Tyler, they are playing regularly for us and are a massive part of what we do," Hackett added.

"They show there is a pathway for those academy players to come through if they put in the work.

"Behind them we have a group of talented young players as well. It's exciting times for the academy."

Dan George
BBC Sport, South

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Oxford United first-team coach Chris Hackett has said the club "don't pay much attention to outside noise" they might struggle this season.

The U's currently sit third from bottom in the Championship and are yet to win a game.

But after three consecutive league defeats their last two matches, against Coventry and Leicester, ended in draws.

"The Championship is a relentless league," Hackett told BBC Sport.

"For a club like us in this league we have to stick together and stay positive, that is the main thing."

Hackett is currently a member of Gary Rowett's first-team coaching staff and was previously involved with Des Buckingham's coaching group.

After winning the League One play-offs in 2024, the U's managed to achieve Championship safety last season in late April, finishing four points clear of the bottom three.

Some have suggested that Oxford might struggle to survive this season after a slow start and such a close call last campaign.

"We have a really positive group of players and staff at the club," Hackett added.

"Everybody doubted us in the League One play-offs and everyone doubted that we'd stay up last season.

"But in-house we have a strong group and bond as well as a great group of staff. Regardless of the outside noise we crack on with our work and we don't pay much attention to the talk.

"Gary [Rowett] has brought a real positive culture within the staff and the club and we're driving things forward here. We'll be a in a really positive place in a few years' time because there is some real positive noise right now."

Oxford United defender Ben Davies says he was delighted to make his U's debut in the 2-2 draw with Leicester City - his first game of football since April.

Davies signed for the U's on a season-long loan from Scottish Premiership side Rangers this summer, having been on loan last season at Birmingham City.

"It's been around five months since I started a game so I was not sure how my fitness would last but I've been working hard after pre-season," Davies told BBC Radio Oxford.

"To play a full 90 [minutes], that's good for me. I think there'll be improvement off the back of that from a personal point of view.

"I love that Saturday feeling of game day and it's good to be back playing."

After returning to Rangers following his loan spell at Blues, Davies did not feature in any of the Gers' pre-season friendlies before signing for Oxford in late August.

Davies played as the left sided centre-back against Leicester in a back four rather than head coach Gary Rowett's usual back five. His defensive stability, combined with fellow debutant Filip Krastev's attacking attributes, balanced out the team.

"You can see that [balance] when you're trying to play, trying to build and trying to get into good positions," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

Midfielder Krastev also had a limited pre-season with his parent club Lommel SK, who play in the Belgian second tier. He joined them in 2020 but has been sent out on loan seven times since.

"I thought he'd been sharp in training and I thought he showed some lovely positions, some lovely touches [against Leicester]," Rowett added. "He picks up very good defensive positions as well."

Listen to the full interviews with Ben Davies and Gary Rowett on Sounds.

"The takeaway from the last two games is that Oxford were able to compete, to play in matches against Coventry and Leicester where you can make a genuine case for at least either side winning the game, [and] if not it should've been Oxford.

"We're seeing progress."

This week on The Dub, Robyn Cowan, Ben Purkiss, George Elek and Jerome Sale react to the 2-2 draw with Leicester City, discuss individual performances and the character of the playing squad before previewing the Bristol City game.

Listen to the full episode of The Dub and more Oxford United on Sounds.

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Boss Gary Rowett speaks to BBC Radio Oxford after Oxford United draw 2-2 with 10-man Leicester City.

When asked if felt like points dropped, he said: "A little bit. But if you look at that result against a former Premier League side, and one with lots of Premier League quality players and athletes, then I'd say overall you would be reasonably happy with a 2-2. But with the way the game goes, you always react to that.

"I thought we started the game fantastically well, I think for 25 minutes 11 v 11 we were the better side. We played really well and built on that Coventry performance, and I was really encouraged by that.

"We scored the early goal, then we made a mistake to let them back in it before having a little bit of fortune with the second goal, but nevertheless it comes off the back of a lot of pressure and good control.

"I'm disappointed with the second goal [conceded]. It was clinical from their perspective, but it was a giveaway from ours. It's those little moments that we need to have a little bit more to win there games."

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Oxford United have named midfielder Cameron Brannagan as their new club captain following the departure of Elliott Moore on transfer deadline day.

The 29-year-old will wear the armband for the first time in Saturday's Championship game against Leicester (12:30 BST).

Brannagan has been at Oxford for the last seven years making 331 appearances and scoring 59 goals.

Defender Michal Helik has been named vice-captain.

"This is a very proud moment for me and my family," Brannagan told the club website., external

"I've been here for a long time, and it's been an incredible journey so far. It's a big privilege to be given this honour and I want to continue to push forward and create new memories.

"I learnt a lot from Elliott, who was a great guy and is a big part of the club's history, helping to take us back to the Championship as captain.

"I now want to lead in my own way and be the person who stands up in big moments, I want to lead by example off the pitch and in training every day.

"It's about setting standards and being the positive influence that the collective follow."

Oxford United host Leicester City on Saturday early afternoon (12:30 BST) in a bid to claim their first victory of the season.

The U's have only one point to their name after their opening four league games, though they did gain it last time out with a 2-2 draw against Coventry City.

They will look to do one better against Leicester, who have won all but one of their league games so far (L1) to sit one point above the Sky Blues in fourth place.

It's been over three decades since the two sides last met in the English Football League - who will claim the first bragging rights of the 21st century?

• This will be the first Football League meeting between Oxford United and Leicester City since a 2-2 draw in the second tier in April 1994.

• Five of Leicester City's last seven Football League trips to Oxford United have ended in a draw (W1 L1), with both sides scoring in five of those games.

• Oxford have only won four of their last 22 league games (W4 D7), picking up the fewest points of any ever-present Championship side in that time (19 points since 22nd January).

• Leicester have won six of their last eight Championship games (L2), while the Foxes could record three successive league clean sheets for the first time since October 2022 in the Premier League.

• After a run of 15 games without a goal, Abdul Fatawu has scored in consecutive league appearances for Leicester for the first time.